NEWS EXTRA


NEWS EXTRA


UK HIGH STREETS THRIVE ON EASTER


WEEKEND A


ccor dingtothelatest report from r etail intelligence experts Springboard, the Easter Bank holiday weekend


lived up to expectations


as the most anticipated weekend for retail after Christmas, with an increase of +1.2% to UK high street footfall for the Easter weekend. The positive results were welcomed by the retail industry said Springboard, coming hot on the heels of the first uplift in footfall in Mar ch (+1.3%) since August last year . Despite overall UK footfall being down -2% for Good Friday y,, retailers finished


industry to Easter Sunday


the Bank Holiday on a positive note with Easter Monday footfall tracking at +3.4%, year on year by midday Springboard insights director Wehrle said: “Easter has


midday Diane We ehrle said: “Ea


been a tale of two halves; footfall declined on Good Friday by -5.9%, but incr eased +4.6% on Easter Saturday compared to last year.


y.. r,, y, footf Easter Sunday last year.


“The results to date ar e in part due to the shift in weather compar ed to last year; Good Friday


y,,


“High streets have led the surge in footfall


“High streets have led the surge in footfall


due to their adaptability was exceptionally warm and


across the UK this Easter due to their ada pta bility


sunny – better than this year – but windy and rainy for the r est of the weekend, compar ed to this year ’s sunny and mild weather.”


The trend for increased footfall outside of retail hours continues, indicating food and beverage outlets ar e a key driver of shopper footfall. On Good Friday , footfall dr opped -8.2% between 9am and 5pm, year


y,, DIYWEEK.NET POLL


W e asked our online readers how business was for them over the Easter Bank holiday weekend. They said:


Great – sales and footfall were significantly up Good – there was definitely an uplift


Disappointing – we wer Terrible


Te 8 DIY WEEK 12 MAY 2017


Flat – we saw no real increase in sales or footfall over Easter – no customers and a significant downturn in sales


6% 36% 20%


e fairly quiet and saw a slight dip in sales 12% 16%


UK High Streets We


est E


Retailers received a boost over the Easter bank holiday weekend, according to recent figures, as footfall on UK high streets increased after a tough seven months and 42% of our online readers reported an uplift in sales.


Whilst Easter Sunday is not a retail trading day, , footfall on high str eets, many of which stage events over r,, incr eased +1.8% on Easter


on year r,, b -1.3%. On Easter Satur


, but post 5pm dropped just day, footfally,


increased +1.3% between 9am and 5pm and a further +18.9% post 5pm. She explained: “This is believed to be a consequence of the worsening of consumer confidence and inflation, which has led to more conservative shopper spending on retail goods and their increased preference for spending on experiences.”


Shoppers hit the high street This is also believed to be the driver of UK high streets success. UK high streets outperformed r etail parks and shopping centres for the weekend to date, which saw decr eases of -2.3% and -8.0%, r espectively Ms We


W ehrle added: “High streets


vely.y. e


have led the sur ge in footfall across the UK this Easter due to their


West End of London Central London Outer London London


UK Retail Parks UK Shopping Centres


24 hours 1.2% 6.8% 5.5% 0.4% 3.7% -2.3% -8.0%


adaptability and diverse hospitality offering, which


supports We est thei r


ability to respond to tr ends more quickly than retail parks and shopping centres.”


Central London and theWest End saw a marked incr ease in foootfall, with any fears that overseas visitors would stay away due to Br exit and currency changes, shown as clearly unfounded.


Online transactions increased +12.4% on Good Friday compared with last year


decline. This


Predict, counter balancing the footfall


on Easter Saturday when online transactions declined -4.4% in line with the incr ease in footfall. Mobile transactions fuelled online activity with a +9.9% rise in transactions compar ed with just +2.5% by tablet, whilst PC transactions -12.7%, year on year .


ivity y,, declined


Friday to Sunday inclusive 5pm to 12am 11.5% 16.4% 15.3% 12.0% 14.5% -0.2% -8.1%


Mon


Up to 12pm 2.2% -5.2% -1.6% -7.3% -3.6% 3.1% 5.9%


www.diyweek.net


r,, according to PCA reversed


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